When the Gods Came to Sunnydale
by Iluva
Summary: The Hellmouth has attracted demons, vampires, all kinds of mystical creatures. it was only a matter of time before the gods took notice... The huntress Diana has come to Sunnydale, why is she following the Slayer? Set during college days, In that little window where Buffy works for the Initiative and Spike is a micro-chipped ally.
1. Chapter 1

Dee shifted the backpack on her shoulder and took another look around the university campus. Finding Buffy Summers among the throng would have been very difficult. But she had a flawless class schedule and a recent photograph thanks to her sister. She and Thea may not get along often but for the right reasons, Thea was invaluable.

And while it might not be necessary, Dee was even registered as a student. ASB card, high school transcripts, the works. As long as no one had any reason to dig very far, she would have no problems.

For each class she shared with Buffy, Dee sat in the back and paid half a mind to the lecture while she studied the back of Buffy's head. Or Willow's. Anything she could learn might be useful. She even followed close behind them between a couple classes but their conversation was normal.

The only times she had to worry about drawing attention to herself was when she was invoked. She usually blocked them out since there were too many to answer them all, but sometimes there were a few that seemed interesting enough to assist. She would watch Willow perk up with each surge and look around and Dee would lower her head and scribble on her notebook until Willow looked away.

Dee learned very little about the Slayer on her first day and looked forward to the gymnastics tryout. She easily made the varsity team. She took the practice schedule and brushed off some of the girls who tried to introduce themselves.

"Bitch," they said as she walked away.

Dee was impatient to finish her task in Sunnydale but Slayers were a new kind of prey and they needed to be studied before she should take any action. She also needed to study the terrain. Sunnydale was a dangerous town and Dee had actually avoided it for years. Not that she feared danger, but magic had complicated her life before and too many creatures were attracted to the Hellmouth. And while she was in touch with Thea at the moment, Dee was worried about running into a relative while she was in town. And she had never enjoyed family drama.

Around the campus she noticed some of the students checking her out. She was careful to casually show the ring on her left hand and hoped it would be a good enough deterrent but there were usually a few who would probably approach her anyway.

When classes were over she followed Buffy to her dorm and then went home, herself. Dee studied her homework until nightfall and dressed to go out. She looked like a modern ninja armed with crossed short blades at her back and a short bow and arrows between them. It was time to take a look at the town.

Shadows were plentiful and her hunting skills were unrivalled. She explored a section of the town and and noted the type and number of creatures she saw. She even found a couple dens. She tried to observe only but a few times she could not help but be noticed and and beheaded two vampires and shot one demon.

Daylight came and Dee went home to change into her student clothes and repeat the day before. She watched other students yawn and sip their morning coffee and she shook her head. What pitiful creatures humans were.


	2. Chapter 2

After six weeks Dee had the entire town memorized. She knew the names of the major supernatural entities and their principle dens and knew there was something militant with back entrances on the university campus though she didn't know the name of the group or their purpose. She could point out several of the members in many of her classes and had watched them "bag and tag" minor fledgling supernaturals. Dee had a few wry thoughts about what would happen if she allowed herself to be captured. But none of that was important.

At school she was a perfect student, even taking on the extra credit projects and she was the star of the gymnastics team. She also had the reputation for being antisocial and the biggest Ice Bitch in existence.

And finally she was ready for the next phase. She just hoped that it wasn't too late. After class she walked into the Magic Shop Giles, Willow, Xander, and Anya were at work in a corner and they fell silent when they saw her.

Dee smiled at them and perused the shelves as casually as her desperate heart would allow. Giles walked over and the others started whispering about her, comparing information.

"Can I help you?" Giles asked.

"Just looking." Dee smiled at him and turned away. She had obviously interrupted something but she couldn'tafford to overlook her prize.

"Maybe I can assist you to find what you're looking for."

"I thought this was a shop." Dee said in an irritated tone.

"It is," Giles said defensively.

"Then let me shop. I'll let you know if I need something."

Everyone else exchanged looks and Xander mouthed "Ice Bitch."

And there, behind the glass of a locked cabinet, in the back, half hidden by an amulet of invisibility, she found it. Dee barely contained her relief.

"Excuse me," she said, turning to Giles but keeping her hands on the glass. "Can I take a look at that dagger?"

"Which dagger?" Giles nervously unlocked the case and reached for a petty Blade of Woe.

"No, that one." Dee itched to snatch it but Giles held it without handing it over. It was definitely the one. It had a new handle, carved from a demon's horn and stained with blood and new runes were scratched down the jagged blade but it was the one she'd been searching for. The dagger she had tracked for eight centuries, thought was destroyed and had surfaced in a vampire cult in Sunnydale. Where Buffy the Vampire Slayer had taken the artifact as loot.

"I'm sorry, but this is not for sale." Giles started to put it back.

"Name a price." Dee sounded more desperate than she meant to and took an involuntary stop forward. Everyone was staring and she purposefully relaxed her stance and smiled. "I mean, it's so pretty. I'm sure it's expensive. But I know I can afford it." If she had to empty every bank in the state, she would find a way to afford it.

"Pretty," Giles echoed, watching her. "Why are you so desperate to buy it?"

Dee thought about dropping the human act and telling the truth but doubted it would help.

"Why not? I thought you said this was a shop, not a museum." A museum would be safer to break into. Museums only had humans and technology. Magic shops had powerful artifacts and vengeful patrons. Even she was not immune to angry warlocks.

"Even so, there are a few items that aren't for sale." Giles returned the dagger to the case and Dee stared at it longingly. It was within her reach. She watched him lock the case and felt a strong tug at her essence.

Willow was reading from a book in Latin. "Great Diana, bless this talisman with your gift of love." Dee rejected the request so firmly that the crystal set in the talisman cracked loudly, making everyone else at the table jump.

"Oh my, maybe I'm more tired than I thought," Willow said. "It seemed like an easy spell to practice."

Dee walked stiffly over and leaned on the table between Xander and Anya to face Willow.

"Why are you invoking the name of Diana for a petty love talisman? Why not Venus? She is much more appropriate."

Willow was flustered and looked at the others, who were staring open mouthed at Dee.

"Well… you see, the Wiccans worship the Triple Goddess not so much the Roman gods and Diana is the goddess of love and…"

"You think the virgin goddess is the patron of love? She hates even the sight of men. Why would she encourage love?"

"Not all love is between a man and a…"

"She is completely celibate! Why do you think your spells never work?" Dee knocked the talisman onto the floor.

"Hey!" Anya said.

Willow was speechless.

"If you won't ask Venus, at least turn to Luna. Of the three, she's the most likely to patronize your pathetic love spells."

Dee was halfway to the door before Willow found her voice. "How do you know so much…" the door slammed shut "…about the Triple Goddess?"

"That was… weird," said Xander.

Anya looked at Giles. "What do you think that was about?"

"I don't know." Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them. He did it when he needed a moment to think. "What do you know about her?"

"She goes to the college," said Willow. "I think she's on the gymnastics team, but she mostly keeps to herself."

"Is she new to town?"

"I think so. I've never seen her before."

Xander piped in, "you left out the best part. At work I hear the guys talk about her. She's such a bitch that she won't talk to anyone."

"She was wearing a ring," Anya said. "Maybe she's engaged or married."

"That doesn't mean she can't talk to anyone."

"Well she obviously thinks she knows more about magic than our Willow," said Giles. "We may have a new witch in town. Perhaps you should try to find out more about her while I try to learn more about the dagger she wanted so badly. And someone should warn Buffy that there is another danger in Sunnydale."


	3. Chapter 3

Dee marched home, grabbed her bow and arrows and shot at the target in her back yard until nightfall. Then she dressed in her usual nightsuit and snuck over to the Magic Shop.

Every entrance was warded with alarm and protection spells. She climbed to a high window and blew on her fingertips. There was no need to incant or invoke herself. The magic simply flowed from her essence onto the ward points and dissolved them with a quiet hiss. The window opened and Dee snuck down the stairs on the alert for more wards.

The case was also guarded with powerful spells but these also dissolved, albeit with a louder sound. She opened the door with a creak and reached for the dagger.

It was gone.

She felt around and searched the other shelves but it wasn't there. She turned around, thinking to look for it when the lights came on.

Dee blinked a couple times and saw Buffy standing by the front door. Willow dropped the spell of undetection and the others appeared beside her.

"We figured the front door would be the only entrance you wouldn't use," Buffy said, full of attitude and confidence. "Looking for this?" she held up the dagger. "Or are you looking for me? Or both?"

Buffy looked at the dagger and stepped forward. "you know, it's hard to kill a Slayer. But this is a very special dagger. But you know that already, don't you? The God-Killer. There is nothing in any dimension that this thing can't destroy."

Dee took two steps back up the stairs as Buffy came closer.

"You should fear it. It works just as well on witches. Now tell me why I shouldn't kill you," Buffy said.

Dee's eyes flitted everywhere in the room, calculating faster than a chess player on a timer. But most options ended in death or capture and none included retrieving the dagger.

Dee growled in frustration and leapt backward, bending onto the stairs and kicking Buffy in the jaw, knocking her back. Her legs swung over her onto a higher step and only skill and a well timed push with her arms let her complete an impossible back flip up a flight of stairs.

She turned to the open window and found it blocked by a platinum blonde vampire. "Hello, sweetheart," he said.

A crossbow bolt sank into the wall beside her and she dove into the vampire, sending them both to the ground one story below. Spike grunted as she landed on him but he still grabbed her when she tried to stand. The bell above the door range and Dee knew the others were coming. She kicked Spike's face and he let go, giving her time to sprint down the street and around a corner.

Buffy and Spike were after her with their supernatural speed and endurance but she still outpaced them and her knowledge of the streets let her high jump to a fire escape and quietly climb out of sight before they ran past below her.

She lost track of them when they rounded a corner and she sat down on the roof to catch her breath. She could stay on the rooftops for a while and work her way closer to her house. Spike would have to leave for the day and the others had to sleep or work. There would have to be a time whe could get inside her house without being seen.

Dee could always leave her house alone and never return to it, but part of her felt this was part of the hunt, to out wait and sneak past her own hunters to get back to her den.

She found a nice vantage point in a tree that gave her a good view, not of her house, but of the places to watch her house. And she found Buffy. Spike must have already left.

A limb creaked and she had an arrow cocked and aimed at Spike's chest within a heartbeat. He froze on the branch above her and Dee studied him for a long time without moving.

"I just want to talk," he said.

"About what?"

He shrugged. "The God-Slayer. And why you want it. You don't seem that evil to me. You had a lot of opportunities to hurt a lot of people to get that dagger but here you are, sitting in a tree, without it, listening to a vampire who was sneaking up on you a moment ago."

"How's your nose?"

Spike touched it with the back of his hand to check for blood. "Pity," he said when his hand came away clean. "I've had worse." He nodded at the bow still pointed at him. "Are you going to put that away yet?"

Dee relaxed the string but kept the arrow nocked and her hands in position.

"You're a trusting sort," he said, climbing closer and sitting down.

"You certainly are," Dee nodded toward Buffy without looking away from him.

He chuckled.

"What?" she asked.

"You look like a bloody ninja." He saw her eyes crinkle. "Let's see that smile. Come on," he said. "Everyone else knows what you look like."

"Humans know. Not any of the night life of Sunnydale."

"True. But now I know where you live. And if I can't trust you, I might need to ask a few friends to keep an eye on you." He gave her an apologetic smile.

She hesitantly brought her right hand up to untie her mask though her left kept the arrow in place. In a swift motion she pulled it off over her head.

"Not bad," Spike said.

"Meanwhile you look like a bleached Ken doll."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment. Now, to business. Why are you here?"

"I'm not here to hurt your girlfriend. I just want the dagger and then I'll leave."

"She's not my…" Spike decided to let it go without arguing. "The God-Killer, eh? I bet you could to a lot of damage with that."

"It's done enough damage since I lost it. It's not safe in the hands of humans, not even the Vampire Slayer. I need to take it somewhere no one else can steal it."

"What are you, if you're not human?"

"That's none of your business."

"I'd like to know if I can go bragging about how I spent a night in a tree with the goddess Diana."

Dee stared at him.

"Oh, come on," he said. "Dee? Throwing a fit in the shop earlier over Willow's love spell? The bow, the gymnastics? You may as well wear a sign."

"So everyone knew?"

"They're human. They're pretty thick. But if you told them who you were, I bet they'd hand it over."

"Then you are very naïve for a vampire your age. Or maybe domestication has affected your mind."

"I am not domesticated!" Spike clenched his jaw. "But maybe you have a point." He looked her over and unconsciously pouted his mouth. "Maybe I could get that dagger for you." He moved closer. "For a price."

"I despise men. If you know me well enough to recognize me, you should know that."

"I'm not a man. Not anymore."

"Does the Virgin Goddess not mean anything anymore?"

"Maybe I feel sorry for you. Maybe I want to show you what you've been missing." He was on her branch and his eyes were fixed on her mouth as he leaned closer.

Dee pulled out a knife and stopped him by pressing it to his throat. "I could kill you."

"But you won't." He moved her hand away.

Dee's anger rose but then she had a fun thought. She looked at his mouth and leaned toward him just a little.

He smiled.

"I guess," she said, breathlessly, "I'm just afraid you'll get hurt."

They were so close they could feel each other's breath and she clocked him on the cheek so hard he fell off the branch. By the time he caught himself a few feet below, she had run down the limb, jumped onto a roof and was making her moonlit way through the neighborhood.

Spike smiled and watched her go. "I love a challenge," he said.


	4. Chapter 4

Dee came back at dawn and didn't see anyone watching the house. She snuck in, changed and packed a large duffel bag. She needed a new base before she could come up with the next step to get the God-Killer. So she abandoned the house and took to the street, thinking as she walked.

Crises were always happening in Sunnydale. She might be able to take advantage of some apocalyptic plan to recover the dagger while Buffy and Company were distracted. She saw Dawn walking ahead of her down the street. Or maybe a good, old-fashioned ransom.

Dawn walked into a coffee shop on her way to school and Dee started to go in after her.

"Hey-a, sis."

Dee's hand let go of the door and she turned to look at Mars.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Hey! No need for that kind of language… How about a hug for your big brother?" But his eyes wandered down her toned body. "What's in the bag?"

"Your fighting skills. You lost them over three millenia ago." Dee walked away and Mars stepped into place next to her.

"Ouch! You know," he slipped his hand onto her butt. "I think we got off on the wrong foot." He blinked and his energy pulsed as he granted a request for power. When he opened his eyes, Dee had a knife at his groin.

She smiled at him and sliced the fabric just a little. "Don't touch me."

Mars removed his hand. "I just wanted to see if you had relaxed at all. But I see you're just as frigid and violent as ever."

Dee turned into an alley and dropped the bag. She turned to Mars and crossed her arms. "What… are… you… doing… here?" she asked.

"I've been hearing some great things about Hellmouth but it's taken me a while to gather up some vacation days to come check it out."

"Is there any reason why you're here now?"

"Maybe. Why are you here?"

"I've never hunted a Slayer before. It's fun. She's a challenge."

"So I hear." Mars licked his lips. "There are a lot of battles going on at Hellmouth. I'm thinking about signing up for one or two, coming up."

"Don't forget to give Thea a call. Or Vulcan. Or… wait. Is there anyone who hasn't kicked your ass?"

"That was a long time ago, sis. I've learned a few new tricks. I would say I would be the winning edge on any side I chose. But listen, if I get my hands on the Slayer, I'll hold onto her for you."

He reached out to slap her butt but she stuck out the knife and he stopped his hand.

"You haven't changed a bit." He winked and walked away. "See you around."

"Mars?"

"Yeah?"

"Who else is here?"

Mars just smiled and walked back onto the street.


	5. Chapter 5

Dee didn't go to class that day but waited for Buffy and Willow to return to the shop. She followed them in and tossed her bag onto a table. They stared at her as she put her hands on her hips.

"You have a big problem," she said.

"Buffy!" Willow tossed a sword to Buffy and Dee forced herself to keep still as Buffy put the swordtip in her face and said,

"You mean besides you? Where's your fancy fighting now?"

"I'm here to warn you."

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"The gods are back in town."

Buffy and Willow looked at each other, Giles stepped forward from behind the counter and Anya and Xander joined them.

"What does that mean?" Buffy asked.

"I saw Mars and he would only be here if a big fight were coming."

"When you say Mars, you mean the god of war?" Giles asked. "In Sunnydale?"

Dee nodded. "And there are probably more. I don't know what's coming, but I'll help you if you give me the God-Killer."

"That would be the perfect weapon!" Xander said.

"It's too risky. If anyone disarms you, they have it. But wherever you have it, you need to make sure it's completely safe. They might not know it's here but you have to make sure that no one gets it, even if all of Hellmouth burns."

Xander shuddered. "Creepy."

Buffy lowered the sword. "Who are you?"

"My name is Dee."

"Okay, what are you? Why should we trust you?"

Dee sighed and looked at Willow. "Willow knows me as Diana."

"You're Diana? The Diana?" Willow got up and walked up to her. "The goddess Diana? How can that be?" Willow touched Dee's arm. "I always pictured you… you know… shiny. And big. Were you cursed into human form? Can they do that?"

"Legends get exaggerated. But I'm the one who gets interrupted every time one of you witches invokes me."

"Prove it," Buffy said.

"Prove that I'm a goddess? No."

"Aha!" Xander shouted. "Now let's kick her out before she talks her way into joining us and betraying us later on."

Dee glared at him. "Rabbit." In a puff of smoke, Xander was turned into a rabbit and hopped around on the floor. Anya shrieked and jumped onto the table. Willow was impressed and immediately started gushing praise.

Buffy shouted, "Turn him back!"

"Human."

Xander reappeared on all fours and stood back up, a little flustered. Anya climbed down on the far side fo the table from him and gave him a half hearted smile.

"She didn't need any components or runes or glyphs and she didn't invoke any… well I guess you wouldn't need to invoke yourself… Can you help me with my spells?"

"Call on Hecate or Selene instead of me and your spells will get much better."

"But why is that? Aren't there some spells…"

"Willow," Buffy interrupted. "Later."

"Sorry."

Buffy turned back to Dee. "Well, Diana, what do you want us to do?"

"Call me Dee. And first we need to find out why Mars is here and whether he was alone. Send your pet to ask around the demon clubs but don't expect too much. Most everyone knows he's in your pocket. I'll look around, too. I'll come back if I learn anything. And you know where to find me." Dee picked up her bag and left.

There was a beat and then everyone made a scramble for the books on Roman mythology.


	6. Chapter 6

Dee went back to classes, easily making up for the lost day and at night walked into the demon clubs that she'd scoped out. She mostly searched the crowds for familiar faces because without fail a demon would get grabby and she'd have to leave after the fight.

On the third night she was standing a block away from the most recent club and trying to decide if the blood splatters looked edgy enough to check one more den or if she needed to call it a night when she heard someone approaching.

"Pet?" Spike walked over from the direction of the club. "You called me Buffy's pet?"

"I thought "lap dog" would upset you. What have you found out?"

"Nothing. I havent even heard about Mars being in town." Spike leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. "So how does it feel to be welcomed wherever you go?"

"Get back to work."

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to loosen up a bit." Spike stepped close. "It might even help you get what you want."

Dee was preparing a scathing reply when another man asked, "What's going on here?"

They turned to look at the newcomer.

"Apollo!" Dee smiled for an instant but her face quickly clouded over.

"Who is this?" Apollo stepped up to Spike, who didn't step back.

"Just a rabbiting vampire. He belongs to a friend… a partner of mine."

Spike flashed a look at Dee but something in the way Apollo was looking at him only left him enough nerve to stand his ground. Dee called herself a goddess and she fit some of the descriptions but she looked like a kid. This guy looked like a god. Powerful and dangerous.

"Partner?" Apollo asked. "What kind of partner?"

"It's none of your business. What are you doing here?"

"I heard Mars and Eris had come here and when I heard you were here too I thought I'd make sure everything was okay."

"Mars and Eris? And now you? Who else is coming? Juno? Neptune?"

"Calm down."

"That's like telling a tornado to calm down," Spike said.

Apollo turned back to Spike. "And who are you?"

"Spike, at your service. I'm helping your sister track down Mars."

"Why don't you go get something to eat," Dee suggested.

"I thought I'd stick around in case there was something I should tell Buffy."

"Fine." Dee looked around the street and noticed all the places an eavesdropper could hide. "Can we talk at my place?"

"I'll drive." Apollo grabbed Dee's arm and Spike reached out just in time to take hold of her other arm before Apollo sped them through the streets to Dee's house in less than a minute.

The moment they stopped, Dee was pushing them off. "Don't fucking touch me!"

"She has a problem with being touched," said Spike. But Apollo wasn't drawn into a response. Instead he gave Spike a dismissive look and entered the house ahead of Dee. Spike felt a little bolder now and followed them inside.

He looked around the bare house. "Somehow I expected lots of statues and Renaissance paintings."

"It's not a museum." Dee sat down in an armchair. "Do you know why Mars is here?" she asked Apollo.

"The last I heard of him, he was asking how to bring back dead gods."

"Like Norse gods or…"

"Pan. Or Jupiter."

"Jupiter is dead? Since when?" Spike asked.

The twins looked at him but said nothing. Spike snorted irritatedly and turned away from them.

"Is that possible?" Dee asked. "If Pan returned…"

"Then humans would be caught in a nightmarish world of chaos."

"But Mars helped us defeat him the first time. Why would he bring him back?"

"Maybe this world is too tame for him anymore."

"Oh please. There are plenty of battles for him to fight." Dee stood up and paced. "Do you know where he is? Can you find out what his plan is?"

"So you and the parasite can go after him?"

Spike stayed quiet, this time.

"I'm helping the Vampire Slayer."

"There are still Slayers? Wigs go out of fashion but Slayers stick around?"

Spike coughed a quick laugh.

"And this one has a lot of experience. If any mortal can help, it's her."

"And she is your companion?"

"My partner."

"In what sense?"

"It's really none of your business."

Apollo looked at Spike, who was watching with interest and stepped close to Dee. She pulled away and Apollo held out his hands to show that he wasn't going to touch her and she stayed in place. He leaned into her ear and asked, "Are you still pure?"

Dee blushed.

"Are you?"

"Yes," Dee admitted. "But it's none of your business."

"As long as it stays true." Apollo patted her arm and she punched him in the jaw.

"Don't fucking touch me!"

"Sorry." Apollo moved toward the door. "I'll see what I can learn from Mars or Eris. I'll keep in touch." He looked at Spike, weighing him in his mind and then left.


End file.
